Free Republic

A city ordinance that went into effect on Thursday that bars some private jets from using Santa Monica Airport would be grounded under a temporary restraining order sought by federal officials. Citing "a clear possibility of irreparable harm," attorneys for the U.S. government filed an application for a temporary restraining order ... Concerned about safety and noise, the Santa Monica City Council approved an ordinance in November that bars jets with approach speeds of greater than 136 mph, including aircraft popular among business executives. The FAA earlier served the city with a cease-and-desist order challenging the ordinance, contending the city...

Excerpt - Just before Lindsay Lohan was arrested early Tuesday morning, she commandeered a car and took three men hostage -- this, according to the three men who were in the car with her. ~ snip ~ They say at one point, Lindsay boasted, "I can't get in trouble. I'm a celebrity. I can do whatever the f**k I want." ~ snip ~

LOS ANGELES — An elderly man who killed 10 people and injured more than 70 others when he drove through an outdoor farmers market was sentenced Monday to probation by a judge who said he believed the crime deserved imprisonment but the defendant was too ill.

AltCar Expo Set for December 9-10 in Santa Monica Santa Monica, California, September 21, 2006 – The City of Santa Monica announced today it will sponsor and host the most comprehensive, technologically advanced exposition of alternative fuel and high MPG vehicles ever held. AltCar Expo, specifically designed for the public, will take place on December 9 and 10, 2006. Admission to the Expo, as well as a wide-ranging selection of seminars and advanced technology displays, will be free. The event will be held at Barker Hangar, located at the Santa Monica Air Center. Over 100 alternative fuel and high MPG...

The elderly driver who ran down and killed 10 people in an open air market in Santa Monica was convicted today of all criminal charges, decisively denying defense pleas for mercy. The verdict leaves to a judge the task of deciding whether George Russell Weller, 89, goes to prison for as long as 18 years. Weller will appeal the decision, defense attorney Mark Overland said. By their unanimous verdict, jurors rejected arguments that the aged driver made a mistake and found him guilty on 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for killing 10 people. He injured 68 others...

Los Angeles -- The elderly man whose car roared through a farmers market in 2003 had multiple opportunities to stop or steer his car away from people and was indifferent after hitting more than 70 people and killing 10, a prosecutor said in closing arguments Thursday. Deputy District Attorney Ann Ambrose urged jurors not to accept George Russell Weller's claim that he mistook the car's accelerator for the break. As she showed photos of bloodied and mangled bodies, Ambrose derided the claim by saying "oops." "Those people's lives were not an `oops,'" Ambrose said. "They had a right to walk...

SANTA MONICA -- Apartment building developers sued the city, seeking to overturn an ordinance that requires them to provide affordable housing. The lawsuit, filed Monday, in Superior Court claims the provision violates clauses of the state and federal constitutions, which prohibit the government from taking private property without providing compensation. The ordinance requires developers with four or more residential units to also build some affordable housing sold at below-market prices, according to the Sacramento- based Pacific Legal Foundation. Money that builders lose constructing below-market homes would be passed along in higher prices for new housing that is not price-controlled, said...

George Russell Weller sat in a wheelchair Tuesday, wearing a loosely knotted tie, and looked up at a huge projection of his car after he had driven through an open-air market three years ago, killing 10 people and injuring more than 60. One dead man was draped across the hood while another victim lay under the front wheels. ... But Deputy Dist. Atty. Ann Ambrose said witnesses reported that Weller appeared intent and drove his car through the crowded weekly market along Arizona Avenue at speeds in excess of 60 mph. Ambrose said the case is much more than an...

(AP) SANTA MONICA, Calif. A judge has ruled that the city of Santa Monica is not liable for a fatal vehicle accident three years ago in which an elderly motorist plowed into a crowded farmer's market. About 50 victims and relatives allege in a civil lawsuit that the city failed to protect them from the accident that killed ten shoppers and injured 63 others. Federal transportation regulators faulted the city for using inadequate safety precautions and an outdated traffic plan that didn't comply with government guidelines. But a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled Monday that the city is...

The movement for academic freedom has been spurred on by students who have seen bias in the classroom or experienced political discrimination, stood up against it and become activists for their cause. A handful of these students were in Washington, D.C. to publicly share their stories at the recent Academic Freedom Conference held by Students for Academic Freedom on April 6-7. Student Mason Harrison, of University of California-Davis, encountered a political rant on the first day of a women’s studies class he’d enrolled in on a wager. “My professor began the class, not by introducing herself, but by chanting: ‘No...

Tuesday night the Santa Monica City Council has given the green light for a new video surveillance system at the 3rd Street Promenade and the Santa Monica Pier. City officials say they decided on the plan after suspicious people took pictures of some of the facilities there. "Some men were videotaping in a manner that was inconsistent with tourist photography. They were photographing access roads and security structures," said Chief James Butts with the Santa Monica Police Department. The system will go online as soon as the cameras and recording system are installed.

The city of Santa Monica, Calif., is in trouble with environmentalists for the way they eradicated their squirrel population: An unannounced, weekend fumigation of the animals' burrows under Palisades Park. City officials had debated the rodent overpopulation issue for more than a year, trying to find a solution which involved neither poison nor pain, reports KCBS-TV's Jennifer Sabih.

Santa Monica - A radio host and Hollywood music consultant was released on $1 million bail after being arrested at a nightclub for investigation of drugging and attempting to kidnap a 14-year-old girl, police said Sunday. Chris Douridas, a KCRW-FM disk jockey, was arrested Jan. 6 outside a Santa Monica nightclub after witnesses reportedly saw him put a substance in the unidentified girl's drink and carry her out of the club, said Santa Monica police Sergeant Jay Trisler. The girl became ill and was treated at a local hospital before being released, Trisler said. It was unclear why she was...

Reports of a second quake in Santa Monica

Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. met with reporters this week and declared a potential homeland security threat. Police received a call last month from a citizen who had taken photos of "Middle Eastern individuals" as they shot video of the Santa Monica Pier and surrounding area in a manner that authorities said was "inconsistent with tourist documentary." ... (Councilman Herb Katz) said the three photos Butts showed the council during the closed session meeting left him with concerns. "There were three people taking pictures on a pier that's a tourist attraction," he said. "They were going under...

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Three individuals who were seen videotaping the Santa Monica pier in a suspicious manner have been identified and were seen videotaping in other communities, police said Thursday. The investigation began on July 22, when a member of the public who had taken still photographs of the three contacted the Santa Monica Police Department, according to Santa Monica Police Lt. Frank Fabrega. The individuals have been identified, Fabrega said. Police offered no other details other than to say that the department will take additional steps to increase police visibility throughout the city, including the pier and the...

SANTA MONICA — Santa Monica police say about 2000 people have been evacuated from the Santa Monica Place mall after a report of a suspicious package. Lieutenant Frank Fabrega says the unidentified package was found in the Robinsons-May department store in the mall at about 4:30 pm.Monday. Fabrega says a bomb squad was called to investigate. Some streets in the area were closed to traffic.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday dismissed the jeers and catcalls directed at him during a college commencement speech earlier this week, saying the protesters were inspired by unions who oppose his November special election. Schwarzenegger said he thought most of the 600 graduates at Santa Monica College were attentive and respectful Tuesday. "So these were all union people that were organizing this demonstration," he said on Fox's "The O'Reilly Factor." "It was not the students that were protesting. The students had great respect and they enjoyed my speech."

Schwarzenegger college speech draws boos in Calif. Wed Jun 15, 2005 12:41 AM ET By Gina Keating and Jim Christie SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger faced down booing, jeering protesters on Tuesday as he delivered a commencement address at his alma mater, where tuition has risen as a result of his budget cuts. Only a handful of graduates and faculty stood and turned their backs to the stage, but spectators in the bleachers at Santa Monica Community College's stadium kept up a steady and distracting patter of chants and whistles as Schwarzenegger, dressed in a black...

WONDERFUL NEWS! The forces of Darkness which had threatened to DISRUPT the graduation ceremonies and PREVENT Governor Schwarzenegger from delivering the commencement address atSANTA MONICA COLLEGE next Tuesday (6/14) and prevent the People of California from voting in a Special Election this November have FAILED, and their rally plans are now self-destructing. :o) Meanwhile, the "GOOD Guys" (that would be US!)are getting STRONGER every day! Please JOIN US at 4 pm, near at 16th and Pico, and help promote our POSITIVE message: "SUPPORT ARNOLD:LET THE PEOPLE VOTE!" Here is the CURRENT schedule of events, which is subject to chaange:4:00...